Burning fat is hard for most people. With millions of articles and videos about weight loss on the internet, it is easy to get confused, overwhelmed and make a mistake. But mistakes are the last thing you want when you are trying to incinerate the stubborn fat clinging to your waist and backside. Here are ten mistakes to avoid when trying to go slim.
Exercise Only
Too much exercise will get you into trouble. If your weight loss strategy relies only on workouts, you may work your butt off at the gym and never have anything to show for it. The reason is simple. You are ignoring nutrition, which accounts for about 80 percent of your weight.
You need to combine your exercise program with a well-balanced diet that covers all your nutritional needs in the right proportion. That way, your workouts can help burn off excess calories or reduce the amount available for your body to store as fat.
Weighing Yourself Frequently
If you are obsessed with the figures on the scale, you will have a hard time losing weight. There is more to your weight than the scale reveals, and you will be making a huge mistake if you allow those numbers to influence your fat loss efforts.
Your weight fluctuates at different times of the day and for women, different parts of their cycle as well. Rather than use the scale to measure your progress, use things such as mirrors, old photographs and how clothes fit on you to identify the small changes in your body.
Doing the Wrong Workouts
Do you spend all your time at the gym on cardio workouts without touching weights? If you are trying to burn fat, you need to do more heavy lifting than cardio. Weight lifting increases muscle mass and boosts metabolism.
The more muscles you have, the higher your body’s fat-incinerating abilities as muscles are metabolically active tissue that burns calories even after workouts.
Avoiding Fats
Despite the bad reputation fatty food has gained over the years, not all fat is bad. If you think you will make more progress by skipping fatty food, think again. Many of the food you consider fat-free also contain a high amount of sugar to improve palatability, and that makes their calorie content at par or higher to fat-rich food. Eating healthy fats in moderation may even help you reduce your galloping appetite.
Skimping on Protein
Protein is an excellent macronutrient that helps build new tissue and plays an essential role in immune function and other biochemical processes. Low intake of protein can hurt your fat burning ability as research shows that protein helps to improve satiety, boosts metabolic activity, reduces hunger, and lowers calorie intake. Protein can reduce the release of the hunger hormone ghrelin and raise the levels of the satiety hormone leptin.
Not taking Enough Fruits and Veggies
Fruits and vegetables should form a large part of your meals. If you are not eating the recommended 2.5 cups of veggies daily, try to incorporate it into your diet now. Fruits and vegetables are rich in nutrients, are low calorie, filling and have a high fiber content which your gut needs to stay healthy. At the same time, you should be avoiding sugar as much as possible.
Overestimating Your Weight Loss
When you start working out or dieting, you will record a high level of weight loss at first. However, your progress will taper out when your body has shed its excess stores of water and carbs. If you notice that your pace is now slow, don’t panic. Fine-tune your program and stay focused on the goal.
Not Getting Hydrated
If you are trying to lose fat, you need to stay hydrated always. Water helps to cool down the hunger pangs and ensures your metabolism is working in top gear. Additionally, water helps to maintain optimal homeostatic levels during workouts, preventing headaches and fatigue which can result from the loss of metabolites through sweat.
Cheating on Sleep
Sleep deprivation can throw your hunger-satiety hormone balance out of sync and also prevent adequate resting and rehabilitation of muscles. If you are not getting up to seven or nine hours of sleep each night, you might be sabotaging your fat loss program. It is advisable to use some Functional Medicine sleep hacks, in order to help you fall asleep and benefit more from it.
Setting Unrealistic Goals
So, you want to have a supermodel’s body in three months? Get real! If you set unattainable fat loss goals, you are setting yourself up for failure. Rather than go ballistic about your targets, choose easy milestones that you can attain quickly and build your strengths gradually. A great goal could first be to increase your overall gut health, which will make fat loss easier.
Getting rid of excess body fat is an important part of living your best life, and being as healthy as possible. While it is important to consider these things when you are trying to lose fat, it is even more important to not attack yourself if you slip up. Keeping mental stress as low as possible and not allowing negative thoughts to affect you is critical to maintaining any form of discipline.
More information
- What are the 10 Things that Can Pack on Pounds?
- Reduce Grains and Sugar to Lose Weight and Improve Health
- How to Lose 20 Lbs Fast with Diet and Supplements